May 1, 2003
12:00 AM (EDT)

News Release Number: STScI-2003-14

Freewheeling Galaxies Collide in a Blaze of Star Birth

May 1, 2003: A dusty spiral galaxy appears to be rotating on edge, like a pinwheel,
as it slides through the larger, bright galaxy NGC 1275, in this
NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. These images, taken with Hubble's
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), show traces of spiral structure
accompanied by dramatic dust lanes and bright blue regions that mark
areas of active star formation.

Q & A: Understanding the Discovery

1.
Where are the colliding galaxies?

Detailed observations of NGC 1275 indicate that the dusty material
belongs to a spiral system seen nearly edge-on in the foreground. The
second galaxy, lying beyond the first, appears as a luminous spiral.
These galaxies are believed to be colliding at over 6 million miles per
hour.